The world is emitting much more ammonia than previously realised, and it's largely thanks to the growing agricultural industry.
A new map produced by scientists in Belgium showing hotspots of ammonia has revealed the scale of the problem. Two-thirds of all the sources of excess ammonia emissions pinpointed were previously unknown.
And all but one worldwide were the result of human activity.
"Anthropogenic emissions dominate natural ones and mostly originate from agricultural, domestic and industrial activities," the study, published in Nature, reads.
Ammonia doesn't last long in the atmosphere, making it hard to track through conventional ground-based detectors. So scientists at Université Libre de Bruxelles pored through nine years of satellite data instead.
The result is a map of the world that shows exactly where all the ammonia is coming from.
"Our results suggest that it is necessary to completely revisit the emission inventories of anthropogenic ammonia sources and to account for the rapid evolution of such sources over time," the study said.
The map has 242 'hotspots' of ammonia emissions, which Google Earth and other satellite imagery showed matched up to high-density animal farms and fertiliser production facilities.
The only natural hotspot was a lake in Tanzania, which researchers suspect might have a lot of algae and decaying matter.
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Wider areas where manure and livestock are common were also picked up, such as northern India and Pakistan, northern China and west Africa.
The data is so precise, the satellite data revealed the opening of a fertiliser factory in China in 2012 and the rapid expansion of poultry farms in Peru.
Oddly, the map cuts off New Zealand, and despite our heavy reliance on agriculture and the ongoing debate over farm pollution, New Zealand is not mentioned in the study at all.
In high concentrations, ammonia can cause burning sensations in the eyes, nose and throat, and can result in lung damage, burns and even death.
In the atmosphere it contributes to the formation of particulate pollution. It's deadly to much aquatic life, and can contribute to acidification of ground and water bodies.
Newshub.
